


Demons: Demonic Monsters

by Jote_Aesa



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Fluff, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Violence, Saving the World, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 11:08:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18570208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jote_Aesa/pseuds/Jote_Aesa
Summary: Nero, Kyrie, Lady and V are on a summer trip to Mitis Forest when they find themselves sucked into the Demon world and find themselves with demonic partners and tasked with saving not only the demonic world, but their own too.





	1. Summer trip

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry, I got this idea while watching Digimon and I thought huh? Wouldn't it be funny if this happened in the DMC verse and this was born. xD
> 
> Please note the only characters related in this fic is Dante and Vergil, no one else is related.
> 
> Updates might be a bit slow as I need to take my time making sure this fic doesn't go off course. Also! Most chapters with be in Nero's POV but the first 5 the POV will change while i introduce characters.
> 
> PS: I'm so sorry about the name of this fic, but i couldn't stop myself x)

“Alright everyone, start pitching your tents!” Teacher Lucia yelled, rolling her eyes when the teens started giggling to themselves. Capulet City college was on a field trip to Mitis Forest near a small town called Fortuna for summer break. It was supposed to be an exciting nature walk towards an old ruins in the forest. Lucia just wanted this trip to be over so she could have her holiday with her mother and drink alcohol until she passed out but the teacher who was supposed to be here had called in sick and here she was, sitting in some forest watching over a load of just about adult aged brats.

Gods, she wanted a cigarette so bad. She watched as the teens, and really most of them were eighteen so she wasn’t sure why they needed a chaperone but here she was and she was getting double pay, struggle to set up tents. Spying a white haired young man leaning against a tree, headphones over his ears, Lucia smirked.

“Yo, Nero, do me a favour!” Said Nero looked at her with a scowl, removing one earphone off his ear.

“What?” Nero snapped, not in the mood to be bothered by a teacher. Lucia’s smirk got bigger.

“I want you to watch over this group while I go for a cigarette, if you do, I’ll give you an A grade when we get back.” Lucia promised, cheering internally when Nero shrugged.

“Tch fine, but if Headmaster Morrison has your ass on a platter for this, then it’s not my fault.” Nero warned, pushing off the tree and taking the whistle from Lucia. She grinned and ruffled his hair.

“Yeah yeah, now go have fun and oh you might wanna go save Kyrie before she gets crushed carrying those poles!” With a wave Lucia disappeared into the forest, leaving Nero to it. The white haired young man rolled his eyes and hurried over to his long time friend Kyrie, who really was struggling with a load of tent poles.

-

“Oh thank you Nero! My partner went off with her boyfriend.” Kyrie said, putting her hand in a prayer motion in front of her chest as she gazed at Nero with a big smile. The white haired man blushed and would have rubbed the side of his nose if his hands hadn’t been full of poles.

“No problem Kyrie, where are you placing the tent?” Nero asked as he followed after Kyrie, unable to stop himself from looking her over. She was in a white summer dress that had yellow flowers around the bottom and she had white pumps on her feet. In Nero’s eyes she looked beautiful.

“Earth to Nero! Anyone there?” Nero blinked and looked up at Kyrie’s face, trying not to blush at her knowing look in her eyes.

“Jee Nero, keep checking me out like that and no one will believe you’re gay!” She teased, gently punching Nero’s shoulder when he scowled and looked around making sure no one had heard.

“Shhh, someone could have heard you and besides… You look p-pretty.” Nero said, stuttering over the word pretty. Kyrie blushed lightly and twirled a loose hair around her finger.

“You think? Thanks Nero!” Kyrie beamed up at Nero before looking round. “Oh you can put the tent poles here, our stuff isn’t too far I can bring it over.” Kyrie said, looking at the pile of bags a few feet away. Nero dropped the poles to the floor and looked to where Kyrie’s and her partners bags were, there were at least eight bags and the tarp for the tent. There was no way Kyrie was going to be able to carry all that by herself so Nero resigned himself to carrying more stuff.

It took a few trips and a bit of teamwork but they managed to get the tent setup and everything inside. Nero wiped his brow, cursing himself for wearing a hoodie on this warm day. Kyrie was just as out of breath and noticing Nero’s state, rushed off to one of the large box coolers for some water.

“Hey Nero! When are you gonna bone Kyrie!?” A feminine arm wrapped itself around Nero neck, pulling him into a headlock. Nero struggled against the hold, growling and trying to push the woman off.

“Fuck off, Lady. I told you I don’t like her like that, she’s like my sister!” Nero yelled, finally getting himself free and glaring at Lady who was looking at him smugly. 

“Sure sure! No one believes you. There’s a bet going round that you two are gonna pop the cherry in the forest.” Lady teased, wiggling her eyebrows and laughed when Nero gave her a disgusted glance. He rolled his eyes and wondered why he stuck up with her at all. Lady was crude at best of times and could be down right mean at the worst of times but her, Nero and Kyrie had all grown up in the same apartment block. Nero and Lady being the outcasts and Kyrie being the only kid who would hang out with them. When Nero had first met Lady was when her and her mother had moved in after Lady had been released from Hospital. It would take years before he found out how she had got the scar on her nose and the one on her thigh. And since then all three had been close. 

He had met Kyrie when he stumbled upon her being bullied by a few other kids and had come to her rescue. He had chased them off after giving them some smarting bruises and she had given him a plate of cookies when he walked her home.

“What are you doing here Lady?” Nero asked, sitting down on the floor and waiting for Kyrie. Lady perched herself on a fallen log and looked at her nails.

“Kyrie’s partner, Cassey? Chrissy? Or whatever name is kicked me out so she could spend some time with her boyfriend. Of course I would get partnered with him ‘cause we’re the odd ones out.” Lady tsked and flicked a bit of dirt from under nail. Nero raised an eyebrow, looking not really interested.

“So I’m here to bunk with Kyrie, I’ve brought my stuff with me.” As Lady said that, Nero noticed the hold all on the floor. He shrugged, Teacher Lucia asked him to watch everyone, she didn’t say anything about making sure couples didn’t get together.

Oh, Lady! How are you?” Kyrie chimed in, carrying three bottles of water. She gave one to Nero and the spare one to Lady, confirming Nero’s suspicions the red haired woman had guessed something like this would have happened. 

“I’m good Kyrie, has Nero proposed to you yet?” Lady and Kyrie giggled together, ignoring Nero’s put upon expression. He was seriously questioning why he stuck up with the two women.

“Lady, stop being mean to Nero. Did you hear? Nero’s been partnered with that new kid, V I think his name is!” Kyrie and Lady began to gossip and Nero eventually tuned them out. He wondered where his partner V had wandered off to. The new kid was strange, he was dressed in black even on a hot day like today and all he ever did was read poetry. Sometimes he walked with a cane, thanks to a childhood accident but other than that Nero knew nothing about him. Other than V had a parrot called Griffon and a cat called Shadow. Both animals seemed to cause a lot of trouble. The only reason Nero knew that was because V lived next door to him and often heard V talking to the animals.

“-Ero… Nero! A few guys are making that girl look uncomfortable.” Lady pointed where two jocks were leaning over a blonde Nero vaguely remembered was called Patty. Nero rolled his eyes and stood up, passing his water bottle to Kyrie while he went and dealt with them, and by dealt with them, he gave both them matching bruises on their jaws. Patty said her thanks and hurried off to her tent. It was then Nero noticed V coming from the forest.

“Yo V! Wait up!” Nero shouted and hurried up to V who looked mildly uncomfortable at being in close proximity to him. Nero ignored it.

“Hey, so we should put up our tent next to Kyrie and Lady. They have a spot at the edge of camp.” Nero said, pointing to where the two women were still gossiping. He watched as V stared to where Nero was pointing before giving a shrug.

“Sure.” V agreed, flicking to a new page in his book.

“Great, we should do it now.” Nero tried to sound enthusiastic but V just looked bored and walked off towards the tarp. Nero took that as a cue to go get the tent poles. It took less time to set up their tent as Lady and Kyrie joined in and once it was finished, V disappeared inside.

“Wow, he’s talkative.” Lady commented, looking surprised. Kyrie too looked amazed at how quiet V was. Nero gave a half shrug and saw Lucia come back to camp finally.

“Alright welps! Lets make some food!” Lucia yelled, already beginning to make a fire in the middle of the camp. Of course Nero got volunteered to help.

-

Morning dawned bright and early on camp and it was already too warm for Nero who woke up feeling sweaty and gross. He looked over at his tent mate who was lying cocooned in a black sleeping bag, the only thing visible was his black hair. He stared in disbelief at how V could sleep like that and not die of heat stroke but shrugged it off and gave out a yawn.

“It appears to be morning..” A low voice drawled and Nero nearly jumped out of his skin, looking to where V was now sitting up and reading poetry.

 _’What the hell?’_ He thought to himself, giving V a suspicious side eye. The young man just ignored him and carried on reading poetry.

“Uh, yeah it is, though Lucia won’t be up before ten am.” Nero informed, kneeling in the tent and giving a stretch. The tents were tall enough for people Kyrie’s height to stand up in but anyone else had to hunch their shoulders or like Nero kneel. Hearing some joints pop, Nero let out a sigh before shuffling out the tent, finding that Kyrie and Lady were already awake and eating some cereal. There were two cooler boxes, one was full of water and the second had some fruit and milk for cereals. Usually they would have to use ration packs but the college had decided to go all out this summer.

“Morning Kyrie, Lady.” Nero greeted as he fished out an apple to eat, enjoying the crisp taste as he bit into it.

“Morning Nero!” 

“Sup Nero.” They both greeted in return eating the last of the cereal. Nero relaxed next to them, putting his earphone on and listening to some music. The morning passed slowly with Nero watching as bleary eyed students stumbled from their tents, heading straight for some water and food. At some point V had also emerged and with him he had a satchel. Nero didn’t pay much attention to it and instead lost himself in his music.

He loved listening to music and enjoyed writing lyrics, he was also pretty good with a guitar but only played in the college’s music room. His parents weren’t too well off and money was often tight every month. In fact just to go on this trip he had to get a part time job as a delivery boy. Kyrie had offered to pay for him, but he refused. She had supported him before and each time he felt more and more guilty. Lady herself wasn’t rich but she got a trust fund that her father had left to her when he died. From what Nero understood Lady hated to use the money but for things like school trips, she used it just so her mom didn’t have to worry.

“Alright welps, get your travelling bags and get ready to go. And no Jeff you can’t wear crocs through the jungle!” Lucia ordered as she shrugged into a sleeveless jacket and clipped a bag round her waist. Nero got up from his seat, brushing dead leaves from his jeans. He fished around in his tent, grabbing a blue hoodie and a backpack, hastily packing a notepad and pen, a portable charge brick for his iPod. Zipping up his tent he hurried over to the water box and grabbed a couple of bottles, knowing that Lady was too stubborn to carry water and he might need a bottle for V in case the guy collapsed from heat stroke.

“Pssst Nero!” Nero looked up from the cooler box that had fruit in, deciding whether he should take a few apples to see Lady standing there, Kyrie and V slightly behind her.

“Whassup?” Nero asked, packing a few apples and closing the lid. Lady had a conspiracal grin on her face that made her look slightly insane.

“You know we’re supposed to go to the ruins of Fortuna Castle right? Well V here mentioned that just west of the ruins is a slab of pure black marble overlooking a waterfall.” Lady’s mismatched eyes sparkled with excitement, though she waved off V’s quiet ‘I did not say that..’. Nero looked at her suspiciously, but the appeal of seeing a slab of pure black marble was more interesting than a old castle.

“Sure, I’m up for that. Though we should probably get back to the group, Lucia is giving us the stink eye.” Nero said, hefting his backpack onto his shoulder. Kyrie looked just as excited as Lady and V looked like he would rather be anywhere else then with them but tagged along anyway.

It took an hour before the four of them managed to sneak away from the group and then it took twenty minutes of hiking before they finally reached the cliff edge and Nero had to admit the sight was stunning. The black marble sat on the edge of the cliff, vines of ivy climbing the edge of it. On the marble itself were runes in an ancient language. Along the floor near the marble was blood red flowers he was pretty sure didn’t grow in Capulet. Just behind the marble was the waterfall which lead down to the start of the canal system that Capulet had.

Nero pulled out his phone to take a few pictures, knowing his mum would love to see this. His mother didn’t get much chance to go on holidays as she worked part time at two jobs.

“Oh, this is beautiful!” Nero looked over to Kyrie who was staring in wonder at the view and he gave a smile. He hadn’t been kidding when he told Lady Kyrie was like a sister to him, she was the one of the very few who didn’t get put off by his brash behaviour. Lady was at the edge of the cliff, looking over the edge and giving out a whistle at the steep drop. V was in the shade reading poetry.

Nero took his time looking round, noticing curiously that besides the ivy and the red flowers there were no other foliage around the black marble. There were no grass or moss round it, just dry dirt which begged the question as to how the ivy and flowers looked so healthy. As he gazed around he also noticed that the trees were slightly bent away from the marble and in a perfect half circle.

His gut told him this wasn’t normal and he began to back away from the marble when he tripped as something wrapped around his leg. He fell towards the slab and put his hands out to catch his fall. As soon as his hands touch the surface, the marble grew hot to the touch and Nero quickly pulled his hands away so they wouldn’t be burnt.

“Nero, you ok?” Came Lady’s voice and the dull thuds of feet coming towards him but he was too busy staring at the black marble. The markings on the marble began to glow and pulse with a red light which spread from the middle and outwards. Suddenly there was a sound like thunder and nero glanced at the blue sky wondering what could have caused the sound.

“What the..?” Nero looked to Lady to find her trying to pull away from vines that had wrapped around her legs but with little luck. Kyrie and V were in the same predicament and Nero was glad to find that V had a tight grip on Kyrie’s hand. The vines were connected to the red flowers and to Nero’s horror were pulling them closer to the slab of marble which was glowing completely red. He tried to pull away, feeling panic well up in his chest as his foot disappeared into the red light. The more he pulled the more vines grabbed hold of him until in the end he couldn’t move any of his limbs.

“Nero!” Kyrie cried, reaching out for him. Nero turned his head and looked at her, feeling hopeless as more than half his body was absorbed into the light.

“It’ll be okay Kyrie! I promise!” Before Nero was completely engulfed in the light, he saw that the other three were to share the same fate as him. Colours blurred around him and he felt weightless. He had to close his eyes as a severe sense of vertigo took over him and he felt like he was about to throw up but it didn’t help, he could still see the swirling colours under his eyes. He gasped for air, black dots dancing across his darkening vision, he let out a groan as his back collided with something solid but warm and the last thing he knew was a deep voice speaking.

“What the hell?!”

\--


	2. Dante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nero, Kyrie, Lady and V are on a summer trip to Mitis Forest when they find themselves sucked into the Demon world and find themselves with demonic partners and tasked with saving not only the demonic world, but their own too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here is chapter two. please note I tagged this as Mature because of violence and stuff that usually applies to Devil May Cry fandom.
> 
> All mistakes are mind.
> 
> This chapter is in Nero's POV

\---

Nero POV

Nero groaned as he awoke, feeling like he had been hit by a truck or seven. There was a smell of burning but he could hear birds singing their song and assumed he was back at camp and Lucia was trying to cook again. He briefly wondered what he had done the day before to feel so achy but shrugged it off and fell back to sleep.

The next time he woke up he actually opened his eyes only to let out a cry of shock when he came face to face with someone, no something! Above him was a man who looked to be in his thirties with the same silver hair as him, the only difference being that there were two horns on his head that reminded Nero of those gaudy devil horns you got on a headband except these were obviously real.

The other noticeable thing was that this stranger had ridiculously light blue eyes with a slit pupil and he could see the tips of fangs in the man’s mouth! He tried to move only to hiss when his back twinged with a fiery burn to let him know that it really wasn’t a good idea.

“Hey, whoa whoa don’t move!” Nero gasped in panic as the stranger tried to keep him from moving. He tried to push them away but it hardly had any force and in the end he gave up. Once the stranger was sure Nero wasn’t going to try and move he let go and put his hands up placatingly.

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you. You took a nasty bump to your back when you landed on me. You’ve been unconscious for hours.” The stranger explained, sitting cross legged on the floor next to Nero. Nero took his time to think over what he had been told and something nagged at the back of his memory. He remembered being on a summer trip and he, Lady, V and Kyrie had wandered off.

 _’Oh shit, Kyrie!!_ Nero thought, beginning to to struggle to sit up as he tried to look around. The stranger tried to stop him but he snarled in their face.

“I have to find Kyrie!”

“Not right now you don’t kid. Your back is badly bruised, just what did you have in that bag thing of yours!?” The stranger finally gave up trying to stop Nero from sitting up and helped him, though he had to get too close for Nero’s comfort. His back burned with the effort of moving and he was gasping by the time he got upright but he could look round better. The stranger backed off again and watched him closely.

Nero ignored them and looked round, noticing that everything was different. The ground was covered in grass but it was red, the trees were warped and mangled and a odd maroon colour. The sky itself was a light red, bordering on pink and clouds were a grey/black that reminded him of smoke. In the clearing was a small fire and some furs on the other side of the fire that looked like bed.

He licked his lips, realising he was really thirsty. He glanced round for his backpack and found it behind the stranger.

“Hey, um,” Nero coughed, his voice hoarse with how thirsty he was. The stranger seemed to get the gist and followed his line of sight, picking up the back pack and handing it to Nero who took it gratefully.

“T-thanks.” Nero opened his bag and pulled out a bottle of water, noticing the bottles were dented where he had obviously impacted with them. One of the apples was squished completely and the others were badly bruised. He took several gulps of water before his thirst was sated and he screwed the lid back on, feeling a little uncomfortable when he noticed the stranger staring at him curiously.

“Where am I?” He asked, feeling sure he wasn’t in the same forest anymore. The stranger blinked, looking mighty confused by the question.

“You’re in the demon world kid.” The man replied, sounding just as confused as Nero felt. 

“What? There’s no such thing!” Nero refused to believe he was in the demon world. That was impossible, it was just a bedtime story parents told their kids to make them behave. ‘Behave and go to sleep or the boogeyman will come from the demon world and eat you!’ was something Nero had been told by his mother several times, though it was followed with a massive tickling session. The stranger rolled his eyes and holy crap he had two sets of eyelids when he blinked.

“Hate to break it to you, kid but you’re in the demon world. I was out here, minding my own business when a portal opened in the sky and you fell out of it. Would have broken your back if you hadn’t landed on me.” Nero breathed slowly through his mouth to stop himself from panicking at the new information, his brain not comprehending how this could be real but he had no evidence it wasn’t real. In fact everything worked in the favour of convincing him it was real. He remembered being dragged into the marble slab, he remembered falling and landing on something solid.

“Hey, don’t panic on me! Just… what’s your name, kid?” Nero had to chuckle at the panic in the stranger, no _demons_ voice.

“Nero.” He replied and watched a big grin broke out on the demon's face, his fangs flashing.

“Well, hello Nero. I’m Dante and welcome to Hell!” Dante introduced himself, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming motion. Nero snorted at how ridiculous the demon looked.

Nero was about to ask more questions when his stomach gurgled loudly, and he blushed at the sound. Dante laughed and fished round the furs and pulled out what looked like dried meat. Nero looked at it dubiously as it was passed to him but was pleasantly surprised when it just tasted like beef jerky. He ate a few slices until his hunger abated and had some more water. He was about to give his thanks when a loud roar was heard and he watched in amazement as Dante pulled a large sword out of nothing after he stood up. The blade was nearly as long as he was tall and on the hilt was a skull. It was honestly the most beautiful thing Nero had ever seen. Dante was looking into the forest with a frown and Nero noticed his eyes were no longer blue but were a deep red instead.

The roar was heard again but this time it was followed by what sounded like trees crumbling under the weight of something heavy. He looked up at Dante, not liking the serious expression on his face.

“What is that?” He asked, wanting nothing more than to scoot closer to Dante but he knew if he tried he would be in agony.

“It’s a Bandersnatch. Ugly things and they are extremely vicious. Stay here and stay quiet. I’ll go deal with it.” Dante explained, giving Nero a stern glance who nodded, making a motion of zipping his lips closed. 

Nero watched in amazement as Dante literally just phased from sight and disappeared. It was like the demon had stepped through space. He waited with baited breath, hugging his backpack to his chest. He nearly jumped out of his skin as a terrible wail was heard and the sound of several more trees being crushed. The noises of a battle was obvious and Nero was concerned about Dante safety. Sure the man was a demon and had a wicked looking sword but could he defeat something like a Bandersnatch? The monster sounded massive, especially if it could crush trees.

There were a few more sounds of a grisly battle before it fell silent. It was so silent that Nero could hear his own heart pounding in his chest. There were no sounds of wildlife, only the sound of his harsh breathing. He wanted to call out to Dante, worrying the older demon might have been killed but he remembered Dante’s warning and stayed quiet. He was vulnerable and unable to move at this time without pain, if he caught the Bandersnatch’s attention he would surely be killed. He wanted to be concerned for Kyrie, Lady and V’s safety but he decided he couldn’t help them if he was dead himself.

Seconds ticked by with no sign of Dante and Nero hated to admit it but he missed the demon’s presence. He was in the demon world, now on his own with something out of people’s nightmare possibly not far from him. He was scared. 

Out of nowhere there was a loud crash and Nero just about rolled out the way as a giant claw landed where he had sat. His back complained at the movement but Nero forced himself to shuffle back until his back brushed against a splintered tree trunk. In front of him was a giant bear like monster except it was covered in a mix of fur and scales, it had massive curled horns on the top of its head and it’s tail was a spiked ball. The bandersnatch shook its head, looking like it was trying to chew something but was struggling. It howled in what looked like pain with its jaws closed and black blood dripped out. There was something bulging in its cheek and it shook its head again, hopping around in a circle, its tail splitting a few trees from the earth and Nero winced as it ruined Dante’s furs. He watched in fascination as the Bandersnatch’s cheek continued to bulge until it suddenly burst and he could see Dante’s sword slicing clean through. The blade sliced from the hinge of the demons jaw to the front of its scaled muzzle and with a sick squelch Dante slid free of its mouth.

The bandersnatch stumbled away, looking a little confused and it bled heavily over the floor. It took one look at Dante, Nero noticed it was also missing an eye, the socket looking a gorey mess, and backed away, whimpering. Dante huffed.

“Go on, get out of here you overgrown rat, get!” Dante made a shooing motion with his hands, Nero watching with a brow raised as the wounded demon scrambled away into the warped forest and eventually disappeared from sight. Dante let out a gutted sounding ‘aw man’ when he saw his coat.

“Man, Nevan is gonna kill me.” Dante said, trying to wipe the gore from his coat but just ended up spreading it everywhere. Nero was still by the tree, gasping with adrenalin watching Dante casually shrug out his coat and holding it up to the sun to try and see any damage.

Nero gagged when he saw something sticking out the side of Dante’s chest.

“Oh my God, what is that in your chest?!” Nero shakily pointed, trying his hardest not to puke at the blood and gore he was surrounded by. Dante looked at him and then glanced at what Nero was pointing out.

“Huh?” Dante prodded it and Nero winced.

“Don’t poke it you moron! OH MY GOD WHY DID YOU PULL IT OUT!?” Nero couldn’t help it and ended up bringing up the water and jerky he had ate earlier. He wasn’t a squeamish person usually but the object Dante had pulled out was big enough to fit into his palm and gave Nero an unhindered view of Dante’s ribs. It also didn’t help the item was attached to a chain and Dante ended up pulling the chain out of his chest like a gross version of the magic trick where they pulled scarves from their sleeves.

“Whoa, you okay kid? You look a little green.” Dante asked, sounding very concerned like he hadn’t just sliced his way out of monsters jaw and pulled some strange object from his chest. Nero heaved a few more times before he felt it was safe to look at Dante. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his hoodie and gave Dante a withering glare.

“What do you think, asshole. You just pulled that thing out of your chest like some dumbass magician!” Nero scolded, rubbing his face and feeling exhausted all of a sudden. Dante shrugged, not looking fazed at all. Nero scowled when the demon chuckled.

“I like you kid. You got fire.” Dante praised.

“Yeah whatever, shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, dealing with your wound?”Nero was mildly concerned Dante might be going crazy with blood loss because he burst out laughing, slapping his knee. Dante turned and Nero blinked in surprise at the smooth skin he was greeted with.

“I’m a demon kid, we have fast healing.” Dante explained, finding Nero’s amazed expression kind of cute. 

“Wait… how did you get over here?” Dante asked, looking round as if some other demon was about to pop out and go ‘I moved him!’. Nero snorted at the idea.

“I uh…. Rolled and shuffled. The Bandersnatch came out of the forest and would have squished me otherwise.” Nero explained, running a hand through his matted hair and ignoring how his back twinged with the movement or how his hand was shaking. Dante whistled.

“Damn kid, that must have hurt!” Nero felt pride swell in his chest at how impressed Dante sounded.

“Yeah it did but I was too busy trying not to die to care.” Nero rolled his eyes and frowned. “So what was in your chest?” Nero asked, trying to get a look. Dante looked down at his goo covered hand before crouching next to Nero so he could see it better. Nero went a little green at the sight but didn’t throw up again.

“Huh… It looks like a pendant?” Nero’s knowledge about jewelry was basic at best, the last thing he ever brought that was jewelry was a necklace for Kyrie and it hadn’t been proper gold so after a few years it faded to a copper. As far as he knew she still had it though. Dante hummed and looked it over.

“It’s needs a good wash to be certain but, yeah I think it is.” Dante turned the item in his hand to try and get a better look but it was too filthy. “Hey, there’s a stream not far from here. I could carry you if you wanted to come?” Dante looked so hopeful that it made Nero wonder how long the demon had been on his own, so with a half shrug Nero agreed with one condition.

“No carrying, I can probably walk there if we take it slow.” Nero said, giving Dante a look when the other looked like he wanted to object but in the end he didn’t. It took a few tries but Dante managed to get him up off the floor, though Nero had to take a moment to get his breath back and to breathe through the pain.

“You sure about this, kid?” Nero huffed and pinched Dante’s arm which was supporting his weight.

“Stop calling me ‘kid’ or I’m gonna start calling you old man.”Nero said with a mock glare. Dante huffed out a laugh as he gently put on Nero’s backpack over one shoulder and Nero’s arm around his shoulders. Nero wrinkled his nose at being so close to Dante’s bloody and dirty form but it was better than being left alone. Slowly but surely they made it to the stream, Nero and Dante swapping questions. Dante was apparently a fire demon, but he had lost his true form. When asked by Nero as to why, Dante shrugged and said he couldn’t remember other but he swore if he ever did he would get his power back. Nero felt kind of bad for Dante. 

The young man shared some information about himself and how he got here. Dante listened, not really interrupting unless it was to crack a joke.

“You mentioned a Karla?” Dante asked as they both stumbled down a hill. Every step jarred Nero’s back and he often stumbled over his own feet.

“Her name is Kyrie. I wasn’t the only one dragged here by the flowers-”

“Red Widows.”

“-Yeah them. Anyway there were four of us. Kyrie, Lady, V and me. We all got dragged in. I hope they’re okay.” Nero’s mood dropped as he thought about his friends, he hoped they were alright, that by some miracle they had found more friendly demons like Dante or just a cave to hide in. However he couldn’t help but think about them lying injured somewhere, or dead. He felt Dante tighten his grip on his waist in what was meant to be a comforting notion.

“Hey, don’t worry kid. Once your back is better we’ll go looking for them. Hell once we find a cave, I’ll leave Rebellion with you and go looking for them myself.” Dante promised and Nero couldn't help but crack a smile.

The river was crystal clear like those mountain rivers you see on TV or those oceans that surround tropical islands. It looked very inviting and Nero was half tempted just to fall face first into it but he reminded himself that this was the demon world and knowing his luck it was made from acid or something equally ridiculous. Along the river were blue lily pad like plants and the edges of the river had tall reed grass that was orange. It all looked very beautiful.

He was gently deposited on the floor by Dante and he was just glad not to be moving anymore. He wished he had packed some painkillers in his backpack because he could with them right now.

Dante looked between Nero, himself and the pendant before giving a sigh.

“Hey kid, think you could go wash this while I take a bath?” Dante asked, looking hopeful. Nero glanced at the water.

“It's not going to melt my skin off is it?” Nero replied seriously, ignoring how Dante snorted.

“Nah kid, it's just water.” Nero still looked doubtful but held out his hand for the gross necklace, trying not to wrinkle is nose at the feel of what looked like gooey flesh in his hand. As soon as the pendant touched his hand it flashed a brilliant crimson hue that nearly blinded Nero before disappearing and left him with a tingling going up his arm.

Dante looked like he wanted to say something but instead started shuffling out of his pants much to Nero's horror. He spluttered and quickly turned away but not before noticing that Dante had to red hide like scales curling around his hips. And Nero shoved the memory of that sight so far back into his mind he was amazed he didn't give himself concussion.

“Yeah, so um I'm gonna wash this now.” Nero said more to himself and carefully shuffled the waters edge. He heard Dante splash into the water with a cheer. He stared dubiously at the water for a few seconds before just biting the bullet and dunking his hand and the pendant into the water. He clenched his eyes closed, ready for any pain his might feel and was pleasantly surprised when all he felt was cool water envelope his hand. 

He opened his eyes with a sigh of relief and began to wash the gore away from the pendant. When he almost finished, he noticed that there was a large gem held almost seductively by a silver rim. On the edging was runes that looked eerily similar to those that were on the marble. The chain was a simple one and silver like the necklace. He would even say it more like an amulet than a pendant. It was… pretty and Nero felt suddenly like he should keep it.

“Yo, kid. You fall asleep?” Dante’'s voice shook him from his reverie and he turned his head to look at the older demon. The man had washed his clothes and his trousers clung tightly to his skin and his leather coat was dripping on the floor. If Nero had been in any other situation he would have took a very close look at how muscled Dante was or how his pants left nothing to the imagination around the crotch but as it was he just shrugged and held out the amulet.

“It's all clean. I think it's an amulet.” Nero said, looking at Dante who crouched next to him and rubbed his chin with one hand.

“Hmmm those are some interesting demonic symbols..” Dante hummed under his breath and put his hand on the amulet that was still within Nero's grasp.

Two things happened when they both touched the amulet: one was that Nero was suddenly and intimately aware of Dante's presence, his power within his own body, like they suddenly shared a body, and two was that Dante's eyes went bright red and a red lightning crackled over his body before the amulet glowed blindingly, enshrouding them in a red light...

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note the description for the bandersnatch is my own creation, it was just something I made up on the spot x)


End file.
